A Pattern of Roses is a 1972 children's novel by British author K. M. Peyton

K. M. Peyton

Kathleen Wendy Herald Peyton, who writes as K.M. Peyton is a British author.Born in Birmingham, Peyton has written more than fifty novels, including the much loved Flambards and its sequels for which she won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Award...

, about a mystery and a ghost. It was issued in the US under the title So Once Was I in 1975, but subsequent editions have used the original title.

The novel was made into a television film in 1983. The film was the first significant on screen role for Helena Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...

; the cast also included Philip Jackson

Philip Jackson (actor)

Philip Jackson is an English actor, known for his many television and film roles, most notably as Chief Inspector Japp in the television series Poirot and as Abbot Hugo, one of the recurring adversaries in the cult 1980s series Robin of Sherwood. Jackson was born in Retford, Nottinghamshire...

 and Suzanna Hamilton

Suzanna Hamilton

Suzanna Hamilton is an English actress. She is most famous for her performance as Julia in the modern film adaptation of George Orwell's classic novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four.-Early career:...

.

Plot summary

While his parents are renovating a cottage in an English village, Tim Ingram uncovers a mystery about the 15 year old boy who had once lived in the house and had died in 1910. With the help of his friend Rebecca, Tim investigates, but finds events from the past being mirrored in his own life.